Review: Bristol label-turned-blog Innate launches a new sub-label, Innate Editions, which it says is dedicated to timeless UK techno, IDM, electro and ambient music, and it'll all come on heavyweight vinyl to boot. The first release revives Connective Zone's Palm Palm, a millennium-era cult classic and Ben UFO favourite that first came out on Mark Broom and Dave Hill's Unexplored Beats in 2001. Now, this long-out-of-print, expensive and hard to find gem has been remastered by Jamie Anderson and so sounds superb with many lavish electronic layers, richly emotive melodies and dynamic drums that lean on UK techno, IDM, and deep electro. Sounds as good now as it ever did.
Southern Coastline (Jack Lever Northern mix) (4:05)
Southern Coastline (Inhmost Coastal mix) (6:27)
Southern Coastline (Synkro remix) (5:39)
Review: Inspired by "slow and quiet life on the southern coasts of England", the debut from CVOIA - a new collaboration between producers and Captured Visions label founders Adam O'Hara and Tom Parker - offers gorgeously lolloping, lazy beats and expansive, cinematic orchestration. There's the brittle, slow motion breakbeats and woozy instrumentation of the duo's original, then remixes from four of their favourite acts: Awakened Souls, Inhmost, Jack Lever and Synkro. All the tracks are about as strenuous as an afternoon on the beach, and equally nourishing, with Synkro's rich, synth-soaked near-ambient mix a dramatic, undisputed highlight. Jack Lever's Northern Mix, meanwhile, wouldn't sound out of place nestled somewhere in Mo'Wax's first dozen or so releases. High praise indeed, but much deserved.
Review: Quiet Music Under the Moon marks the 2023 debut of Calm, featuring a talented ensemble: Toshitaka Shibata on piano, Yuichiro Kato on saxophone, Tomokazu Sugimoto on upright bass and Kakuei on steel pan. This new collection shifts focus from showcasing virtuosic solos to delivering a meticulously crafted suite of chillout tracks, mostly incorporating "moon" in their titles. The album unfolds like a serene journey through the night, seamlessly transitioning from pieces like 'Drift Into Dreamland' to morning reflections in 'Oyasumi, Ohayo'. The natural sounds of cicadas and gentle summer showers act as connecting threads, enhancing the auditory experience. Musically, the tracks fall into two categories: softly sighing synth melodies reminiscent of 80s cinematic scores and gentle, beatless soundscapes infused with post-rave textures. For example, 'Moonshower' evokes the lush aesthetics of Digital Justice's works, slowed down to a meditative pace. Calm's signature ambient sound shines throughout, characterised by slowly arching pads and sustained chords that invite contemplation. This clear vinyl edition, complete with an obi strip.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
A Once & Meaningful Life
Remaining Stretches (0:45)
Separations & Reactions (3:05)
Doubts Of Words (4:46)
Unless They Were Beautiful (7:22)
In The Bright The Days (3:42)
If Disabuse Is So Hard, Then (1:18)
What Our Mouths Make Them (2:30)
Hanging Herself On The Lonely Fifth Column (13:22)
Openings Of Love (Fireworks) (17:01)
Extended Sways Of Silence (18:11)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
Will Thomas Long's and Danielle Baquet-Long's magnificent album Celer is an alluring fusion of classic ambient and minimalism that comes steeped in a very real sense of romance. It comes with underlying themes of longing, melancholy, and nostalgia and begins with the sound of a train evoking a sense of travel. Throughout the piece, grandiose string loops alternate with various field recordings, creating contrasts between the concrete and abstract, the mundane and the exalted. Despite the epic feel of the string loops, the title, 'Engaged Touches', hints at intimacy. This powerful romanticism characterises much of Celer's work, making this another noteworthy addition to their growing repertoire.
Review: Active now for some 40 years, Hiull's Andrew Chalk explores the quiet, intimate spaces between melody and texture, highlighting fleeting moments with a painter's touch heer across 15 tracks. While his previous release, Songs of the Sea, unfolded in long, in depth waves, Dioramas embraces succinct pieces in each composition showing a look into a world rich with hushed tones and slow-moving beauty. There's a gentle warmth that permeates much of the album, as if the music is unfolding in soft light. 'The Carrach' introduces a folksy lilt, its melody turning over itself like a jewel slowly spinning on a dial. 'The Changes' evokes a meditative solemnity with its rich, organ-led hymn, while 'Lonely House' closes the album with stretched, whispering strings that shimmer like reflections on water. These small but striking details never disrupt the album's stillness but instead highlight Chalk's ability to subtly shift focus, revealing new layers of depth in each listen. A master of texture and restraint, Chalk continues to refine his singular approach to ambient and drone, weaving together fragile yet deep soundscapes. On Dioramas, the British Andrew Chalk returns to the art of miniaturism, crafting delicate, self-contained sonic vignettes that feel like carefully composed dioramas in sound.
Review: The third LP in the Chypho series from Jahbulon Records, Episodes in Oceanography, features striking cover art that helps make it another collector's gem. Chypho hails from Huntsville, Alabama and the music here does what it says not he tine - profiles an underwater world in painterly and immersive ambient tones. There are plenty of microscopic details that drift by, shimmering sun rays that piece the surface and implied rhythms that sway to and fro like the shifting sands of the ocean floor. It's a real soother for the soul but a great bit of nourishment for the mind.
Review: Chypho is on a roll with this super trio of albums on Jahbulon Records. The second album in the Episodes in Oceanography series, is another must-cop for ambient lovers and it is enhanced by striking cover art and great mastering. Hailing from Huntsville, Alabama, Chypho's music vividly explores an underwater world through immersive ambient tones and this edition captures subtle, microscopic details in deft melodies, with bright keys breaking the surface and supple rhythms swaying like ocean currents. It's a soothing journey for the soul, offering both relaxation and nourishment for the mind, and is a tranquil, yet thought-provoking place to get lost. Very nice indeed.
Review: Andrea Cichecki - a German DJ, music producer and audio engineer based in Dresden - presents her debut LP for Castles In Space, building on an intense reflection on her past. Having been brought up on the precipice of countryside and woodland, Cichecki is a lifelong adherent to what she called the "edge effect", thriving on the boundaries of things both metaphorical and actual, rather than sticking within them. Bringing macro-cosmic scale to Moogish synthesis, each track weaves a personal story of an implicit, instrumental nature, unalloyed by words, and incorporates field recordings from the Ore Mountains and the wild, valleyed landscape of Saxon, Switzerland.
Review: Civilistjavel! returns with a seven-track exploration of melancholic soundscapes, further developing the sonic territory charted in Brodfoda. Tomas Boden's work, released on FELT, continues to weave together beauty and dread, employing a deliberately slow tempo that conjures a sense of isolated, arctic air. This LP builds organically upon the foundations of Brodfoda. 'XIII''s unsettling hum transitions smoothly into the dusky textures of 'XIV'. The dewy ambience of 'XV' precedes the hypnotic, shadowy dub of 'XVI'. 'XVII''s windswept, acid-tinged interlude then segues into the introspective drones of 'XVIII'. The collection concludes with 'XIX', where Thomas Bush's crooning vocals offer a hint of dawn, intertwining with organs, guitars and subtle sound design. A powerful emotional impact through minimalist means, skilled storytelling at its best.
Queens Of The Circulating Library (part 1) (25:00)
Queens Of The Circulating Library (part 2) (24:30)
Review: Queens Of The Circulating Library stands as a post-industrial masterpiece alongside Time Machines and Soliloquy For Lilith and is a sensory-warping long-form drone. Created by Thighpaulsandra and John Balance, the 49-minute track flows in cyclical waves which echo the minimalism of La Monte Young. Released in 2000, it marked the beginning of a series of evolving compositions and its theatrical opening features Thighpaulsandra's opera-singer mother delivering a dreamlike, declamatory monologue, setting the stage for the trip that ensues. The music shifts like slow-motion surf and is a fine example of Coil's unique ability to embrace extremes and mutation.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Coil - "Protection" (6:53)
ELpH - "Glimpse" (3:30)
ELpH - "Crawling Spirit" (1:53)
ELpH - "PHILM #1 (Vox)" (9:14)
ELpH - "Static Electrician" (3:11)
ELpH - "Red Scratch" (3:19)
ELpH - "If It Wasn't Wolves, Then What Was It?" (2:56)
ELpH - "Static Electrician (Symphonic)" (4:52)
ELpH - "Track 9" (3:09)
ELpH - "Track 10" (1:26)
ELpH - "Track 11" (2:45)
ELpH - "Track 12" (10:46)
ELpH - "Track 13" (7:43)
ELpH - "Track 14" (2:57)
ELpH - "Track 15" (8:22)
ELpH - "Track 16" (9:11)
ELpH - "Gnomic Verses" (5:06)
ELpH - "Track 18" (11:21)
ELpH - "Track 19" (8:18)
Coil - "Glisten#2" (1:04)
ELpH - "Zwolf" (20:02)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
This 30th-anniversary reissue of a key experimental release is a journey into the darker realms of electronic music, showcasing the duo's exploration of ambient, industrial and glitch-inspired soundscapes. The release features a stark contrast between the rhythmic, almost club-ready track, infused with danceable energy and the more experimental, glitch-heavy compositions that delve into an unsettling, ritualistic atmosphere. The latter, considered one of the duo's most daring works, uses manipulated sounds, haunting textures and a pervasive sense of sonic unease to create a deep listening piece. The reissue compiles rare material, including previously unreleased tracks, alongside the duo's final appearance under this project. Fans of avant-garde electronic music will appreciate the unique blend of rhythmic elements and abstract textures. While some may prefer later works from the duo, this collection remains a fascinating piece for those drawn to experimental, atmospheric music that pushes the boundaries of sound and composition.
D Hawkins/S J Lewis/E Breadwater - "Suzie Q" (3:39)
C Coppola/F Coppola/M Hart - "Nung River" (1:05)
C Coppola/F Coppola/R Hansen - "Do Lung" (4:22)
Letters From Home (1:31)
C Coppola/F Coppola/M Hart - "Clean's Death" (2:34)
Clean's Funeral (3:43)
Love Theme (4:13)
Chief's Death (2:28)
Voyage (4:00)
Chef's Head (2:36)
Kurtz Chorale (1:42)
Finale (8:05)
Review: The music from Apocalypse Now is a compelling piece of the film's unique atmosphere, composed by Carmine Coppola and his son, Francis Ford Coppola. This remastered gatefold 2xLP presents a score that is anything but conventional. Featuring bold electronic experimentation, the music complements the film's depiction of chaos and inner turmoil. Tracks like 'The Delta' and 'The Dossier' create a meditative, eerie backdrop, while 'Orange Light' and 'Voyage' highlight the hallucinatory journey of its protagonist, with the latter infusing a touch of psychedelic guitar. While it's not a traditional, action-driven score, the pulsating synths of 'Nung River' and dissonance of 'Chef's Head' bring tension to the forefront. Its final moments with 'Finale' bring reflection to a movie that explores the boundaries of duty and sanity. Although challenging at times, the music's blend of synthetic and natural elements provides a fascinating listen, especially for those open to a bold 1970s electronic sound.
Aeon Is A Child At Play With Colored Balls (part 1) (16:32)
Aeon Is A Child At Play With Colored Balls (part 2) (19:24)
Review: Situated at the crossroads of ambient, post-natural sound design and "hi-tech sacred music", the debut long-form physical release from Milanese trio Cortex of Light presents two seamless compositions that flow without a defined beginning or end. This meditative work blurs boundaries and places you at the heart of an evolving sonic landscape. The release also marks the inaugural collaboration between A.R.X. and Krisis Publishing and unites their visions to bring this evocative project to life. Cortex of Light's artistry offers a deeply immersive experience here that is a mix of experimental textures with a profound sense of timelessness.
Review: The late great Cosmic AC's vast catalogue again yields some posthumous treasure with part two of the For Now album. It's another record that is as sophisticated as it is adventures with plenty of painstakingly crafted but effortless smooth breakbeats on 'Larvy' topped with pensive synths. Elsewhere there are logic-defying rhythm structures on 'Snood', hooky synth shimmers and more raw textures on 'Wisconsin Desert' and jazzy, cosmic motifs on the wonderful 'Setting Sun'. This is a high-class mini-album full of next-level sound designs and turbo-brain drum patterns. It makes for a compelling listen wherever you may be.
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